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Definition:
In May, 66CE Jews living in Galilee began an armed uprising against the Roman Empire.
Judea had been ruled by Romans for about six decades and the relationship was never
very amicable. Roman procurators were permitted to keep whatever taxes they raised
which was above the quota due Rome, an obvious incentive to keep taxes as high as
possible. In addition, the Roman government assumed responsibility for appointing
the High Priest - not too dissimilar from a secular ruler appointing the pope - which
became a continual source of aggravation among the Jews.
The religious incitements increased under emperor Caligula who commanded that a statue of him be erected in all temples through the empire. The Jews objected to this and tried to convince him otherwise - only his sudden death prevented a war at that time, but it did serve to radicalize more and more of the Jewish people. The final insult appears to have been the theft of silver from the Temple by Florus, last Roman procurator, in the year 66. Outraged citizens rioted and killed the entire Jerusalem garrison.
This victory made the Jews confident that they might actually win, a belief encouraged by the band of extremists known as the Zealots. This group sprang up early during the Roman occupation and they saw both the death of Caligula and the victories in Jerusalem as signs from God that they would be victorious over the Roman Empire. By November 66 they managed to drive out all Roman forces from the areas around Jerusalem and had begun to purge collaborators from the ranks of Jewish leaders.
Unfortunately, those early battles would remain the last real victories for the Jewish rebels. Emperor Nero picked Vespasian to lead the Roman forces in Judea and ordered him to destroy both Jerusalem and the Temple. First, however, he sent his 60,000-strong army against Galilee, the more radical region. Estimates place the number of Jews killed or sold into slavery at about 100,000.
The commander of Jewish forces in Galilee had been Flavius Josephus He was captured at Jotapata when it fell after a six-week siege. Josephus managed to save his life by telling Vespasian that the Jewish prophecies of a Messiah actually predicted that he, Vespasian, would become emperor. So, Josephus was kept as an interpreter and hostage.
In 68 CE Nero committed suicide and his two immediate successors, Galba and Otho, are quickly killed. Vespasian troops proclaim him emperor, thus fulfilling the prophecies related by Josephus. Pleased with this. Vespasian freed Josephus who later became a Roman citizen and told about the war in his famous book The Jewish War, published in 78.
Because he had to return to Rome to assume leadership of the Empire, Vespasian turned over command of his army to his son, Titus. On May 1, 70, Titus began his siege of Jerusalem with about 80,000 soldiers. Unfortunately for the Jews, they were in no way united against the Roman enemies - despite having only about 24,000 troops of their own. Different camps of Zealots fought against each other and all of them fought against those Jews who adopted anything resembling a moderate position. Many earlier Jewish leaders were systematically killed because the ranks of priests were filled with collaborators - after all, pleasing the Roman rulers was the best means to advancement.
After the walls were finally breached, more than 100,000 Jews were killed and more than 90,000 were taken prisoner - these would later be sold into slavery throughout the Empire. Almost the entire city was razed to the ground. Judah became a minor province of Rome and the Jewish state was finished. The Sanhedrin was abolished and the priesthood was over. The only religious leaders left to continue the Jewish traditions were the Pharisees and, out of them, developed the position of rabbi, a religious teacher.
The Great Revolt was not over with the destruction of Jerusalem. Pockets of resistance continued to hold out, with the last being the fortress of Masada. Taken over by Zealots in July, 66 the Romans were not able to reach it and take it back until June, 73.
Christianity
Although primarily an event which affected Jews and influenced Judaism until this very day, the Great Revolt and the fall of Jerusalem in particular influenced Christianity as well. For one thing, the exile of the Jews from their homeland forced them to become even more exclusive than before. Without a nation to help define them, all they had were the traditions which differentiated them from everyone else. As a result, even more distance between them and the sects of Christians developed, a rift which has never been healed.
The fall of Jerusalem also plays a role in the Christian scriptures. Chapter 13 of the Gospel According to Mark recounts a story of Jesus prophecizing that the Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. Traditionally, Christians have believed that this was a genuine prophecy because it was written before the events of the year 70 and this is a view which fundamentalist and conservative theologians continue to maintain. More recent scholarship, however, suggests that it was written during or shortly after the Great Revolt and simply placed at an earlier time.
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